My Story

When I first entered the workforce, I fell into a (long) career in insurance. I studied to enter the medical field, but bills needed to be paid and insurance was a better option at the time. It was an interesting field that people just fell into, myself included, spending nineteen years there!

I often joked “there is nothing sexy about insurance”, yet I was able to do things I would not have otherwise; move to Australia, pay the deposit on our first house, watch the Australian Open from a corporate box and go to extravagant restaurants.

I enjoyed the technical aspect of the roles and was always complimented on my ability to make complicated or unknown topics easy to understand. I was, and still am, very client focused, which served me well.

Although I was successful and challenged, I was unsatisfied.

I knew I wasn’t doing what fed or nourished me as an individual.

The values of the job and the companies I worked for were at odds with my own.

I struggled to enjoy my life including my kids, my husband and come to think of it, anything really. I knew I had an amazing life but I allowed the job to taint everything because it was not “me”.

Alongside this, my health really suffered.

My Mum tells me I was constipated from six months onwards. I was on course after course of antibiotics for reoccurring tonsillitis in primary school. I remember being so constipated that I would have a bowel movement once a week whilst at college and go to bed each night looking five months pregnant, rock hard but not a six pack to be seen!

Nothing really changed over the next ten or so years. I once spent a whole wedding and reception in the toilet with gut pain. I avoided parties as I was afraid of what my gut might or might not do. Many nights I could not even make it the car after eating out before I was vomiting, and would continue to do so for hours after. I would spend nights in pain and have no idea what triggered it. I tried every over the counter remedy I could find, with some providing short-term relief but nothing more.

After years of these gut issues (reflux, bloating, pain, cramping constipation, hospitalisation) I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) in about 2002. I remember crying when I was told I had IBS. At the time, it was regarded more so a stress/mental issue than a medical condition. The doctor told me to take some laxatives and learn to relax.

I felt like I had been dropped off at the end of a long road all by myself and told to find my own way back. It was such a helpless and hopeless moment in my life.

It was only working with a naturopath, over many months, that I learnt how my diet and mindset, alongside herbal tonics were integral to my gut health. I am happy to say that my gut is calm and happy now (although still not a rock-hard ab to be found!).

I flare up every once in a while, but use herbs and breathing exercises to manage them so they are shorter and less painful. I understand my triggers (foods, stress, poor sleep) and finally feel in control again.

Because stress was such a significant factor in my gut (and mental) health, I simply had to reevaluate my career. My last insurance job left me on the verge of depression, highly anxious, burnt out and lacking any sort of confidence let alone any ability to make even the most basic of decisions. At this point, my gut was the least of my issues.

So, after much discussion with my very supportive husband, I quit my job to study naturopathy full time.

After leaving my job, I spent the next three years studying, healing, making up lost time with my two beautiful kids, falling for my husband again, rediscovering who I am and making a new tribe. I was incredibly and thoroughly happy, for the first time in a very long time.

And I still am because I am doing what I love, surrounded by people I adore. I have my own clinic specialising in gut and mood, as these are two issues I know well. I strive to give women a space to feel safe, heard and supported. I love to dive into technical journals and research and translate this to simple healing protocols unique to each of my valued clients.

My goal is to give people with gut issues options, they can do so much with just the right foods and get amazing results with herbs and nutrition.

My road wasn’t easy, although easier than many others, but I know that I can use what I learned, and still learning, to help others.

And that is what feeds and nourishes me!

Here’s What To Expect From Me…

As a medical herbalist and naturopath, I want to know all about you.

This gives us me in-depth picture of you and helps me offer you an individualised treatment plan.

Treatment may include:

Individualised herbal tonics

Supplements (including vitamins and minerals)

Diet modification

Lifestyle prescriptions – exercise, counselling, stress busters

Referrals to appropriate specialists

Referrals for specialised testing (as required)

Because YOU are the driver of your health, all of these treatments are optional, you decide how you want to proceed.

Natural medicine is amazing, holistic and often can still be taken alongside any current prescription you may have (be sure to inform me).

Having so many options to treat your specific condition ensures you have the best chance of overcoming it and regaining your health.